Her Fears
by Nyaena
Summary: Lara Shepard has been waging a war with herself as she seeks out other races in the galaxy to help against the Reapers. Rated M for blood and possible smut :P. Note: I am considering writing another story based on the new ME3 Extended Cut. Once I am finished I will continue to write, and possible smutty one-shots.
1. Prologue

_CDR Lara Shepard_

_Journal Entry 1358_

_My headaches have become worse as the days go on. This war has become overwhelming and my morale has sunk so low that I don't even know if I can make an uplifting speech before the upcoming battle. I am uncertain of how I can possibly lead my squad. There are so many doubts and questions racing through my head._

_Will I be able to push through? Will my team make it out of this alive? Will I make it out alive?_

_I've died once already with Cerberus putting me back together again. For the longest time I didn't know for sure if I was human or if I was just a clone of myself from the past. I had so much uncertainty. I would look at myself in the mirror and question if it was really me._

_It is undeniably me. I may be part organic and synthetic, but I am still human. The thought alone is a small victory to myself, but it is a victory short lived. I have been playing political games since I left Earth. Watching the Reapers attacking everything that I had grown to love about my planet, it was shocking to say the least. I grew up on Earth. I know I didn't have the best of lives, growing up without parents and joining a gang just to survive was hard. My heart, my planet, my world is being assaulted as I write this, and I don't know if I will get it back._

_The Reapers are a sentient race of machines that have been destroying all organic life in our galaxy. I don't know who created them. I only know they come from dark space and they want to destroy everything. They've been changing every race that they've encountered into abominations. It's meant to cause despair. Seeing any race so mutated and deformed, it disgusts me._

_I've managed to gather as many races as I possibly can. I never thought I would see the day when the krogans would be cured by the genophage or the quarians and geth come to peace with each other. The rachni queen that I freed all those years ago is even helping us. I thought galactic unity would be our winning strategy, but I am unsure._

_There is so much at stake and I've already felt the pounding waves of battle beat against me. I can't take it any longer. I'm so tired. Joker has already told me that I am more stressed out than I was during the Blitz. Back then I wasn't coordinating a galactic war against the most dangerous enemy of our galaxy. I also didn't have a lover or a close knit team that I have now. Maybe it would be easier to be alone. I would have less to worry about._

_I should visit Dr. Chakwas, this headache is starting to grate on my last nerve. I should probably wash my face with cold water before I head down to the medical bay. I can't let the crew see me like this. They're already worried enough as it is, especially Garrus. He's seen me cry and has noticed I've been cracking under the pressure._

_I just want this war to be over but I don't know if we'll make it. I don't think I'll make it. I should just give up._

_No. No, I have to believe that we will make it. It's just this headache. It just sets my teeth on edge. We'll give the Reapers everything we've got. I just need to keep believing. Even if it kills me._

* * *

** I would like to start by saying I do not own Bioware or it's characters. I am simply tweaking that god awful ending that occurred in Mass Effect 3. I still support Bioware, but I do not support their ending (artistic integrity). I will be writing out my own ending that will hold the themes of the Indoctrination theory. You can find it here .com/forum/1/topic/355/index/9727423/ **

******Well I'm back writing again. Maybe I'll finally finish my Dragon Age fanfic. **I would love feedback if you have the time. I will be writing more ASAP. -Nya

**P.S. After this chapter, it's spoiler time. So don't read ahead after this if you want to be...surprised by the ME3 ending.  
**_  
_


	2. Here I Stand

**Note: A special thanks to ShelleySnape for proof reading my work and giving me uplifting confidence in my writing! (Even if you haven't played Mass Effect :P)  
Another thanks to Martial Arts Master for being the reviewer :) **

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Lara sat silently as Anderson explained the next move. "It's a straight shot to the beam."

"A straight shot with Reapers trying to crush us along the way." Major Coats reminded, his British accent was heavy with sarcasm.

Lara looked over at Coats, he was your typical military man, yet like her, he was incredibly pale. His dark hair was a mess from the battle before and his eyes looked as tired as she felt. Anderson, who sat across from her, looked tired as well. Perhaps it was the lighting, but the dark skinned man looked a bit pale himself.

"We just need to get a handful of troops through." Anderson had ignored Coats' sarcasm and was making an effort to keep up the morale.

Lara stopped listening as she pulled the hair tie from her wavy auburn hair and looked over at Garrus who was sitting beside Coats. His piercing blue eyes bore into her. She could feel his concern. It came off in waves. 'I don't want him to remember me this way.' Lara thought sadly as she turned her attention back to the tie she felt between her fingertips. They had said goodbyes; she practically sobbed it before quickly walking away, unable to take the sorrow any longer. Her heart was aching as she pulled her hair back and tied it up tightly. She had to be strong, even if she felt as if her head was about to explode from the pressure building up inside. Another headache was threatening her focus.

Desperate for a distraction, she came back to the conversation, standing up and forcing a reassuring look at all of them. "I can't think of anyone else I'd rather do this with."

"Nobody does it alone." Ashley said standing up. Lara knew Ashley well, and vice versa, but she had no clue as to how wrong she was. Lara felt like she was doing it alone. It would all be up to her to get the mission done.

…_Give up…_

Lara nodded, giving Ashley a small smile.

"We're in sight of the target." Coats announced as Garrus and Anderson stood up.

Lara looked back over at Garrus. Her beloved turian. How long had she spent with him? It had been years of looking at him. She remembered when she first met him. His arrogant attitude, with the patience of a hummingbird caught her attention first. Before she knew it she found herself enthralled with the turian. The tall stature had always peaked Lara's interest. Turians stood on average over six feet tall. At first the three talon fingers was a little off putting, but it was the eyes that made them appealing to her. The piercing eyes masked with black. Garrus' blue eyes seemed to see straight through her, making her heart hammer loudly in her chest. He had always towered over her, since she was rather small. Most military women were on average five foot five or six, she was only five foot two. Yet, he followed her. The reflective plated creature took to her orders and seemed to respect her instantly with little doubt in her, even if she doubted herself. Damn, she loved him. Though Lara didn't believe in God, she prayed that he would make it out of this alive.

"All right everyone. This is it." Anderson stated.

The cruiser lurched forward suddenly, knocking everyone off balance as they came to a screeching halt.

"What the hell?" Lara muttered as they quickly exited the cruiser.

Everyone followed suit, dropping onto the rubble of the crumbling capital of England. It was a total war zone. Buildings had fallen, and the streets had been littered with burned garbage and bodies.

"Shit!" Anderson exclaimed.

They had done everything according to plan. They destroyed the Reaper that was guarding the beam that would take them up into the Citadel, but another one had glided down from the sky.

…_Give up…_

Lara and Anderson ran toward the edge of a crumbling ramp and stared up at the Reaper that had touched down next to the beam.

Despair and fear suddenly filled the air, mixing with the iron smell of old blood and decaying flesh. If it was any other soldier standing in Lara's place, they would probably have become paralyzed with fear, but Lara glared at the Reaper. This just made her angry and her head throb more.

"We gotta go!" Lara could hear the slight panic in Anderson's voice. The plan was beginning to crumble beneath them.

"Come on!" Lara yelled, commanding everyone to go forward.

"Hammer squad! Go, go, go!"

Lara's heart was in her head, pounding as adrenaline rushed through her veins. The Reaper had seen them as the squad rushed forward. Lara pushed herself even as the muscles in her legs screamed at her. The Reaper's beam of destruction shot out towards them. A blast had exploded a cruiser beside her, knocking Lara further along, her ears ringing from the explosion. She had to get to that white beam. It will be over soon if she could just get to that beam. Lara maneuvered and ducked as more shots from the Reaper took out other soldiers. She could hear the gurgled screams of dying men before they turned to ash.

…_Give up…_

"No! Keep pushing dammit!" Lara yelled feeling the beam blast near her. The beam caused rubble to spray up into her face. Her muscles ached as she kept rushing forward. She was getting closer to that white beam of light. Humanities salvation. If she just kept focusing on it, she would make it. She had to. Another cruiser blew up causing her to stumble and looked down at the ground. Looking back up she could see only red. She was caught right in the Reaper's beam. She closed her eyes quickly and felt the hot pain rip through her.

"Garrus."

* * *

"_Not sure if turian heaven is the same as yours, but if thing goes sideways and we both end up there…meet me at the bar."_

_Lara felt hot tears prickling her eyes as she looked up at him. Garrus. His blue eyes met her own as she struggled to hold back the pain that wanted to pour out of her heart. _

"_We're a team Garrus. There's no Shepard without Vakarian so you better remember to duck." Lara bit her lip as she started blinking and staring down at the floor. She couldn't be weak right now. She just couldn't. She had to be strong for both of them, but his voice, his words were the only things that could tear down her walls so completely. _

"_Sorry, turians don't know how. But I'll improvise." Garrus paused as he reached out and took her hands in his, "Lara, forgive the insubordination, but your boyfriend has an order for you. Come back alive. It'd be an awfully empty galaxy without you."_

_Lara sobbed and she stood on her tiptoes as Garrus leaned down to kiss her. She had become so use to the feel of him. The cool metallic mandibles tickling at her jaw, and the smoothness of his mouth against hers. She didn't want it to end as his arms encircled her waist pulling her closer against him. She sobbed again, pulling away. His talons wiped away the tears that flowed down her face as she looked back down at the ground. She shook her head and pulled away once more, this time staring up at him._

"_Goodbye Garrus…If I'm up there in that bar and you're not…I'll be looking down. You'll never be alone." _

_Lara's fingers trembled as she reached under the collar of her armor and fumbled. She extracted a silver chain with a small heart locket and held it up for him. Garrus understood and immediately leaned down so she could clasp it around his neck._

"_I love you, Garrus." _

"_I love you, Lara. Forever."_

* * *

Everything hurt as Lara listened to her breathing in the darkness. She was sure her eyes were open but she just couldn't see anything. Was she dead?

"God…they're all gone." Lara winced at the sound of a distant voice, it hurt her pounding head.

Lara breathed as she continued to blink. She was suddenly becoming more aware. She squinted, the light hurt even as she tried to move herself. She gasped in pain and tried to breathe through the pain as best as she could. It felt like her skin was seared and her ribs were cracked.

"Did we get anyone to the beam?"

"Negative. Our entire force was decimated."

Lara blinked as the beam of light came into focus. She clutched at her ribs as she watched the Reaper fly back up into the sky.

'The entire force was decimated? No, that couldn't be. That must be a mistake.' Lara bit her lip as she felt around for a weapon, her vision was blurry at best and she struggled to fight a black out.

Her fingers found a pistol and quickly she latched onto it. Struggling, she managed to push herself up, desperately trying not to scream from the pain that lanced through her body.

"It's too much. We need to regroup. Fall back to the buildings…"

"Hammer's wiped out. Air forces retreat…"

'Everyone is wiped out? Please let it be a mistake, please.' Lara's head pounded as she stumbled forward. She felt a wave of nausea as she looked around. Bodies of dead soldiers were everywhere amongst the rubble. She panicked as she continued to look around. A man was pulling himself up from the ground. His face was caked with blood and dirt as he reached up with his hand and collapsed.

'Get up! Get up soldier!'

Lara was screaming in her head, but her body continued to push forward.

'No. This isn't right! This isn't…'

Lara's heart stopped as her eyes fell upon a massive pool of blue blood. A sniper rifle lay next to the body of the dead turian.

"No. No. No, please no." Lara begged as she stumbled to the body ignoring the pain.

Those once beautifully fierce eyes lay open and lifeless as she fell to the ground beside Garrus. She clutched at silver and blue armor and pulled him close out of desperation.

"Garrus? Garrus? Love, please wake up! Please, don't leave me." Lara sobbed hysterically as she touched his face, running her fingertips over the scars of his neck. "Don't leave me alone! You promised…you promised turian-human babies…or…or at least adopting. P-p-please, don't leave me!" Lara screamed, ignoring her ribs that cracked in displeasure.

Movement caught Lara's attention as she sat in the pool of Garrus' blood. Time had slowed, even if her vision was impaired by the oncoming darkness. Husks were racing their way to her.

"No. You won't have him! I won't let you!" Lara howled, her eyes widening in anger as she aimed her pistol and easily put a bullet through each of their heads.

The husks fell to the ground one by one, the adrenaline began coursing through her veins once more, but her grief was overwhelming as she looked back down at Garrus' lifeless form. She could just end it here. She had a pistol, why didn't she just end it now?

Lara looked around and saw Ash's body badly burned and bloodied. She was alone. Isn't that how she had felt? How she wanted it to be? Lara shook her head as she pushed her fringe from her eyes, suddenly noticing her long waves had spilled out from its tie. She looked down at her body, it was bloodied and her flesh looked burnt. She might as well be dead.

A fresh new pain shot through Lara's shoulder almost knocking her flat onto the ground. She looked up and saw a marauder. It was the only thing standing between her and her final mission.

"Garrus, I'll be at the bar soon." Lara muttered as she stood up and aimed her pistol. It took three shots for it go down. Her strength to hold her weapon was wavering fast, making her aim shaky at best. She sighed with some relief as she knelt back down to Garrus and kissed his forehead before closing his eyes.

"I love you."

She stood back up and moved slowly toward the beam. Her body screamed in agony as she kept pushing forward, even the edges of her vision were still grey and the pounding in her head was getting worse. The beam of light felt warm as she got nearer, but she also couldn't hear anything else except a violent whooshing and crackling noise.

As Lara got closer, she felt herself becoming weightless and suddenly traveling to fast she felt as if she were a piece of taffy, being stretched and pulled. And suddenly there was nothing but darkness. Lara gasped as she hit the floor face first, cracking another rib. She whimpered as she tried to push herself up from the floor to look around. She wretched instantly as she found herself amongst piles of decaying bodies, lying in heaps with flies buzzing around them. Lara coughed before wiping her mouth of the vomit and took another look around.

"Shepard."

Lara blinked, it was Anderson's voice. 'How is that possible? I thought everyone was dead.'

"Shepard!"

Lara groaned as she held her arm around her side, pushing herself up. "Anderson. You up here, too?"

"I followed you up, but we didn't come out the same place…at least I don't think we did. What's your surrounding like?"

'He followed me up? Where was he?' Lara thought to herself as she continued to look around. 'Something is wrong. It doesn't feel right.' Lara took a step forward and breathed heavily as she tried to hold her torso up in a comfortable position so that her rib wouldn't puncture her lung.

"Are you alright?" Anderson asked. It sounded like Anderson, and it sounded like he was concerned.

"I feel like death…but I'm moving." Lara whimpered accepting that it was him as she shuffled through the darkness. She could make out a path with the dim red light from above. It gave the corridor an eerie feel as she tried her best not to look at the piles of bodies.

"It's dark…there's human remains scattered."

"Sounds familiar. I'm in a dark hallway…reminds me of your description of the Collector base."

Lara looked down to find her pistol under her feet. As she bent down she replied without thinking, "Makes sense."

"You think they're making a Reaper in here?"

"Sure. They round them up on Earth, then send people up here to be processed." Lara winced as she continued forward.

"God damn abomination. I'm going to keep moving. The sooner we blow these bastards back to hell, the better."

Lara wanted to protest but she was in no shape to look after Anderson. She might even get him killed because he would try to protect her.

"The tubes don't go on forever, but where the hell are we?"

"It doesn't look like any part of the Citadel that I've ever been to." Lara replied but paused as her head began to throb more. It was becoming unbearable.

"Whoa…"

"Anderson?"

"One of the walls here just realigned itself. The place is shifting. Changing."

Lara's attention focused on a Keeper that seemed to be playing with dead humans insides. Lara fought the urge to dry heave and quickly looked away. It was disgusting and did nothing for her mental state.

"There's a chasm here…and more hallways like the one I was in."

A clunk caught Lara's attention ahead as a large door slid open revealing more dead bodies strewn about a large open corridor. Lara stepped carefully, trying to avoid the blood covering the floor and dripping down the stairs. It proved to be difficult to maneuver as she slipped quite a few times. Ignoring everything behind her, she looked ahead seeing some light up ahead while hearing electrical cracks to her side.

"I see something up ahead. Might be a way to cross over."

"Don't get too far ahead of me." Lara warned.

Lara began to worry when he didn't reply right away. Normally Anderson would say something back at least having some kind of comment.

"Where do you think you're at?"

"Just found that chasm you were talking about." Lara winced as she tried to look to her side.

"Hold on…I see something. A control panel maybe. I'm just going to go ahead and check-" The com began to crackle with interference. Lara was definitely worried now.

"Anderson?"

Lara began rushing her pace as when he didn't respond. "Damn it!"

Walking up a steep ramp did nothing for her body as she willed her legs to keep moving. She kept seeing flickers of lightning in the room ahead. As she kept moving she felt a wave of relief as she saw Anderson standing at what looked like a panel on a pedestal. She half smiled as she continued to move forward onto the circular platform of the room and glanced around seeing the inside of the Citadel. Maybe there was hope after all.

As she got closer she noticed Anderson started to slump over and clutch at his ribs. 'He probably broke his, like I broke mine.'

"Anderson…" Lara watched as Anderson shuffled, slowly turning around in an awkward fashion. Her head suddenly felt on fire as she could hear whispers echoing through her head.

"Shepard! I can't…" Anderson was struggling and gasped as he shuffled forward.

Lara didn't understand, 'What is happening?'

"I underestimated you, Lara."

Lara closed her eyes as she tried to focus on the voice that was coming from behind her. She recognized his voice. How could she not? He funded the project that pieced her back together after she died, courtesy of the Collector's. His voice stirred anger in Lara. He was the man who was ahead of her every step of the way as she struggled and fought to save this galaxy.

It suddenly became hard to breathe as snake like tendrils reached around her body. She winced unable to see the force that was overtaking her.

"What have—"

The Illusive Man merely smiled as he walked in front of her. He was characteristically in his clean suit with his hair tidied back as those blue mechanical like eyes stared down at her with such knowing. His face had changed since she had last encountered him. The fair skin looked like it was torn or scorched away, replaced with black and blue wires that glowed. He didn't look human anymore.

"I warned you. Control is the means to survival. Control of the Reapers…and of you if necessary."

Anderson growled as his body was being controlled to stand up tall as he faced Lara, "They're controlling you."

"I don't think so Admiral." The Illusive Man smirked at Anderson.

"Controlling me is a lot different than controlling a Reaper." Lara shot back, glaring up at the Illusive Man.

The Illusive Man turned his attention back to Lara and rubbed at his chin, staring at her contemplatively. "Have a little faith." He paused as he walked over to the edge of the platform to look out over the Citadel. "When humanity discovered the mass relay, when we learned there was more to the galaxy than we imagined. There were some who thought the relays should be destroyed. They were scared of what we'd find. Terrified, of what we might let in."

Lara watched as he began pacing. He obviously was thinking of a way to talk her out of her mission, "But look at what humanity has achieved. Since that discovery we've advanced more than the past thousand years combined. The Reapers would do the same for us again a thousand fold. But—"

Lara gasped as the pressure around her body increased. Her head was definitely going to explode from this headache and she was sure her brain would start hemorrhaging from the pain. Her body began to move and not of her own free will. Her right hand raised the pistol as she tried to fight off the encroaching darkness. Her body straightened suddenly as she looked up at Anderson. His body was mimicking hers. His right arm was stuck out as if he was her.

"Only if we can harness their ability to control." The Illusive Man said lightly as he stood at Lara's side. She wanted to kill him. She could tell he was indoctrinated. That damn bastard had played with Reaper technology and had gotten himself in the same situation that Saren had.

Anderson gasped his words, "Bullshit! We destroy them, or they destroy us!"

"And waste this opportunity?" The Illusive Man scoffed. "Never."

Lara struggled, her finger was twitching for the trigger of her pistol. 'Please, don't make me.' She begged silently. "You're playing with things you don't understand…with powers you shouldn't be able to use."

"I…don't believe that." Lara could hear the hesitation in his voice. She had to continue to talk to him down. It was the only way they were getting out of here. "If we can control it, why shouldn't it be ours?"

Lara's hand began to shake as she tried to fight against it, "Because, we're not ready!"

"No. This is the way humanity must evolve."

"There's always another way." Anderson stated as he too tried to fight against the control.

"I've dedicated my life to understanding the Reapers and I know with certainty, the Crucible will allow me to control them."

"And then what?" Lara interjected.

The Illusive Man looked at her with a wicked grin and squeezed his fist tightly. Lara struggled for breath as her body felt like it was being wrapped tightly. "Look at the power they wield! Look at what they can do!"

Lara's stomach lurched as her finger squeezed the trigger. She stared horrified as Anderson looked back at her with shock.

'No! No!'

The blood began seeping from Anderson's side as he grunted with pain, leaning forward to catch his breath.

"I see what they did to you!" Lara hissed venomously feeling a sharp pain in her side suddenly. She wanted to look down out of curiosity. Did a rib puncture her side?

"I took what I wanted from them. Made it my own! This isn't about me or you. It's about things so much bigger than all of us!"

Anderson struggled to breathe, "He's wrong, don't listen to him!"

"And who will you listen to, Lara? An old solider stuck in his ways, only able to see the world down the barrel of a gun? And what if he's wrong? What if controlling the Reapers is the answer?"

"If we destroy the Reapers, this ends today! But if you can't control them—" Lara warned as she glared at the Illusive Man. 'Stupid fool.'

"But I can!" The Illusive Man growled.

"Are you willing to bet humanities existence on it?" Lara interrupted. Her throat was dry, but she managed to put some growl in her words.

"I…no! It will work!" He shook his head and grabbed at his hair. He was beginning to doubt himself.

"You can't, can you? They won't let you do it." Lara realized as she watched him.

"NO! I'm in control! No one is telling me what to do!" He pointed his finger at her angrily.

"Listen to yourself! You're indoctrinated…" Anderson gurgled. Lara feared the worst, as she looked back at him. His face was beginning to pale more.

"No! No!" The Illusive Man yelled as he pointed a finger towards Lara, "The two of you who are so self-righteous! Do you think power like this comes easy? There are sacrifices!"

Lara closed her eyes as she thought of Garrus, "You've sacrificed too much."

"No. Lara…I…I only wanted to protect humanity. I can control them! I know I can."

"It's not too late. Let us go." Lara spoke softly hoping he would listen. "We'll do the rest."

"I—" she heard his hesitation as he rubbed his face, "I can't do that Commander."

"Of course you can't, they own you now." Anderson glared.

Dread filled Lara as she heard the distinct noise of a gun coming being readied. The Illusive Man sneered, "You'd undo everything I have accomplished. I won't let that happen."

"Because of you, humanity is already undone."

"That's not true!"

"They have the Citadel, they've got us fighting each other instead of fighting them."

"I just need to—"

"You've done exactly what the Reapers wanted and you're still doing it because the Reapers control you."

"I…they're too strong."

"You're stronger, don't let them win!" Lara pleaded. "Break their hold! Don't let them control you!"

The Illusive Man struggled as he lifted the pistol in his hand, "I tried, Lara."

A definite bang resounded through the room before the Illusive Man's body landed on the floor with a sickening thud. The grip on Lara became nothing more than air as she walked forward for Anderson. His body collapsed with a groan escaping his lips.

She made it to the panel and began typing in codes to open the Citadel. She held on as the station began to move and open up to reveal ships being destroyed right outside of Earth's atmosphere. She felt relieved even if she was in a great amount of pain as she watched the Crucible moving into place with the Citadel.

Anderson grunted as he pulled himself toward the platform and sat himself up. Lara looked back and decided to join him. The rest would be welcome.

"Commander."

"We did it." Lara whispered, as she thought of Garrus. 'I'll be joining you soon, my love.'

"Yes…we did." Anderson nodded as he looked out at the Earth. "Quite a view."

Lara half chuckled, "Best seats in the house."

She looked out and felt her eyes getting heavy, Anderson's words became white noise as she just stared out into space. She was done. She could go, knowing it made a difference.

"Anderson?" Lara asked as she looked over, noticing the old man was falling asleep. "Hey, stay with me. We're almost through this."

"You did good, Lara. You did good. I'm—proud of you."

Lara closed her eyes and leaned her head back. He was fading. "Thank you sir."

The pain in her side suddenly became noticeable. She looked down and blinked in confusion as she noticed blood pouring out what looked like a bullet wound in her side. 'How did that get there? I remember the shot to the shoulder, but not that one.'

"Shepard? Commander?"

Lara looked up at the panel. It was Hackett's voice. She grimaced as pushed herself up, her muscles aching with displeasure.

'What do you need me to do?' Lara thought as she fell back down, her legs didn't want to work any longer.

"The Crucible is not working. It's gotta be something on your end."

'How? There's nothing here!' Lara thought angrily as she crawled to the panel.

"Commander Shepard?"

"I don't see—I'm not sure how to—"

The will to live suddenly left Lara as she collapsed onto the floor. She had nothing more to give and was bleeding out. Sleep. She wanted to sleep. She wanted to see Garrus and she wanted to have that drink at the bar.

"Commander?"

'It's done.' Lara thought unaware that the platform she was on lifted up in a soft beam of light. 'I'm coming Garrus.'


	3. My Saving Grace

**Another special thanks to ShelleySnape for editing and looking over my story :) I'm glad to hear that people have been enjoying the story. Reviews are always welcome and keep me pumping out the stories. Also a big thank you to Shepard-Commander :) I will try my hardest to get this story out ASAP! **

**ATTENTION: This first part of the chapter contains a steamy sex scene. You've been warned! **

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"_You look like you're lost in your thoughts again, Lara." Garrus said softly. _

_Lara breathed out a long sigh as she pushed a hand through her hair. She was trying to take a bit of a breather in her cabin, but to no avail. She was fighting herself and trying to stem off this headache._

"_I just can't figure out how Cerberus is one step ahead of us." She stood up from the black leather couch out of frustration and turned to watch Garrus make his way further into her quarters. He was wearing a traditional turian garb. It was similar to his blue and green clothes that he would wear, but these ones were black with red trimming. _

"_The Illusive Man has some deep rooted ties. He could be the next Shadow Broker." Garrus joked dryly. _

_Lara pinched the bridge of her nose, "My head is killing me." _

_Garrus was at her side in an instant, gently pushing his talons through her hair, and massaging at her scalp lightly. "I could take care of that for you. Dr. Chakwas mentioned that when you have sex that your bodies release endorphins. She mentioned it helps relieve stress and headaches."_

_Lara chuckled, "I could use some stress relief. These headaches just keep getting worse, I feel like I'm about to crack. How can I possibly win this war—"_

_Garrus cut her off by sweeping her off her feet and cradling Lara against his chest. "Let your turian boyfriend ease some of your tension so that you can focus a little bit more. Don't forget, even you need to come up for air." _

_Lara smiled as she stroked at his cheekbones as he sat down on the bed, still cradling her. "You're the only one who can do this Lara. No one else. Only you." Garrus softly said as he looked down at Lara. _

"_Then I guess you're going to have to relieve some of my tension." Lara smirked as she looked up into his eyes. She moved closer to him on his lap, encircling her arms around his neck. Her heart did small flutters as she pressed her lips to his. The smoothness. The heat from his mouth. It made her heart ache and tremble with excitement. A moan escaped from her lips as Garrus' tongue slowly began to dance with hers. It was moments like this when it felt to good to be true that Lara was thankful she didn't have any allergic reactions to him, or vice versa. She never wanted to stop. _

_Garrus' hands made their way down Lara's back, causing her to shiver with delight as their kisses became intense and heated. Lara moaned as she shifted herself so she was straddling him pushing her dress up, while her nails lightly dragged down his neck. Garrus purred as his hands gripped onto her hips. He needed her closer. Lara moaned as he gave a slight buck underneath her. A throbbing bulge was expanding, grinding against her, rubbing enough to stoke the fire inside her. _

"_God Garrus." Lara whimpered breaking the kiss. His eyes were dark with lust, her body drove him wild with ecstasy. He need more, he wanted to feel her warm soft skin. He loved seeing that porcelain skin flush with color. He smiled before nipping lightly at her neck. Lara shrieked in delight, gripping his shoulders a little more aggressively. "Yes." _

"_Do you want more?" Garrus teased, flicking his tongue out to taste her. She shivered, giving him a reason to continue more._

"_I want you, please." Lara gasped, feeling teeth scrape against her neck. _

_Garrus nuzzled at her neck as his hands tugged down the zipper of her dress. That tight leather dress showing off those wonderful curves and hid those lacey undergarments. Lara stood, breaking contact as she turned and shimmied the dress off, slowly swaying her hips from side to side. She knew she couldn't dance, but she sure as hell could move her ass when the occasion called for it. _

_She smiled as the dress hit the floor, revealing a black lacey thong and a black bra. She continued to sway her hips back and forth, even take off her bra and tantalizingly slow, pull down her underwear. Garrus growled as she turned to face him. He wasn't interested in any other humans. But Lara, had an amazing body. Her body was strong and powerful, yet she could be beautifully soft and gentle. She was achingly slow as she walked towards him. His mouth went dry as she kneeled above him and she kissed him again. He could see the desire in her blue eyes. _

"_I want you, Garrus." Lara whispered again._

_Garrus smirked as he flipped her onto her back, his body hovering over hers. "You don't want to wait a little longer?" He asked lightly dragging his hands down her legs to her thighs. He listened to her gasp of delight as he slowly inched lower. _

"_Please." Lara whimpered._

"_I think you could wait a little longer." He teased, kneeling above her as he pulled off his clothes, leaving only his pants. He loved seeing the hungry desire in Lara's face. It felt good knowing that she was attracted to him, that she loved seeing and touching his body. Her hands automatically reached out and pulled him down on top of her. Her kisses became wild and hungry as her legs wrapped around his waist. Garrus groaned as her hand found the aching bulge in his pants. She rubbed before pushing her hand into his pants to grip him tightly. Garrus sucked the air in sharply. _

"_Spirits Lara." _

"_Hmm. Yes?" She purred innocently. _

"_You feel wonderful." Garrus growled feeling her other hand shifting his pants lower. _

"_Please I don't want to wait longer. I need you." Lara urged. _

_Garrus pulled away for a moment just to pull his pants off. The blue cocked bobbed, and was slick with fluid. The plates had fully shifted, allowing his arousal to grow more. Lara sat up, inching towards the edge of the bed. She needed him to be inside her. _

_Garrus climbed back on the bed, wrapping an arm around Lara's waist. "I think we should try a different position."_

_Lara followed his lead, and suddenly felt a different kind of flutter as she lowered herself. He wanted to face her the whole time while she sat on his lap. The thought touched her heart in so many ways she felt all hungry aggression fade into tenderness. She rubbed herself against Garrus, enjoying the slick fluid against her sex. They both moaned with delight and satisfaction. She propped herself up a little higher before positioning the head of him at her entrance. She loved that moment before the plunge. Garrus raised his hips up slightly as she lowered herself down. _

_Lara cried out with pleasure as she sunk down around him, immediately wrapping her legs around his waist and burying her face against his chest. Garrus sucked in a breath. She was incredibly tight around him, filled with liquid heat. She always was. He knew he was large, Lara had said it herself when she first saw it. She was almost dumbstruck with how large it was, that and she was surprised it was blue. Regardless he didn't move so she could get used to his girth and length. He never wanted to hurt her. Garrus pushed his hand into her hair as he kissed her. He wanted to take care of her forever. _

_He didn't move until her hips started moving slowly against him. She moaned as his hands cupped her bottom, raising her up and setting her back down. She gasped, closing her eyes as Garrus began to nuzzle her neck. She could feel the headache going away as she kept pushing her hips forward, her body pressing against his. He let her continue to ride him as he decided to play with her pink nipples. His tongue flicked out against them, causing her to whimper loudly and her hips to buck hard. _

"_Garrus!" _

_Lara bucked hard against him as he continued to nibble and sucked at her. She was very close to the edge but Garrus slowed her down to a halt as he teased at her neck. _

"_A little more." Garrus purred in her ear. He gripped her hips and slowly pushed back against her. Lara whimpered as she tried not to cum. He felt so good. His cock hit just the right areas making her wet sex clench around him tightly. _

"_I want to see your eyes." Garrus said softly as he pushed her long auburn hair to the side. Garrus groaned as Lara bucked forward, her lust filled eyes burning into his._

_Garrus grinned as he began bucking his hips up against hers. He could feel her getting closer as she tightened around him. _

"_Garrus, please." Lara pleaded._

_Garrus growled deeply, "Cum with me."_

_Lara sighed with relief as she moved her hips in time with his. "Deeper. God yes!" _

_Lara shrieked out Garrus' name as she crashed like a wave against the rocks. She squeezed him tightly causing him to buck up faster. _

"_Lara!" Garrus called out, pulling her closer against him. He groaned, feeling hot spurts ejecting from his cock. _

_Lara's body trembled and slumped as she breathed hard against him. "Well—that relieved—tension." _

_Garrus chuckled, collapsing back onto the bed with Lara. "Just let me know when you're ready for round two."_

_Lara smiled, "We might need to have a tiebreaker after that."_

_Smiling, Garrus ran his fingers through her hair before kissing her forehead. "I love you Lara. I'll let you sleep a little before we start round two."_

"_Promise me, you'll wake me up."_

"_I promise I'll wake you up." Garrus smiled, not releasing his hold on her._

* * *

"Wake up."

Lara's eyes fluttered open at the sound of a voice. She pushed her body up, immediately noticing that she wasn't in her bed, and Garrus wasn't here. It was nothing but a dream. Tears threatened to spill as she looked up at a translucent glowing boy who was staring down at her. Pain had lanced through her body once again as she stood up and faced the child.

"What? Where am I?" Lara asked looking around. She could see exploding ships and drifting debris in the vast darkness of space. Lara blinked in confusion, how was she breathing?

"The Citadel. It's my home."

Lara watched the continuing battle, but turned her attention to the boy. Something felt…wrong.

"Who are you?"

"I am the Catalyst."

Lara frowned at the child, "I thought the Citadel was the Catalyst."

"No, the Citadel is a part of me."

"I need to stop the Reapers. Do you know how I can do that?" Lara asked.

"Perhaps." The boy paused, "I control the Reapers. They are my solution."

The boy turned his attention away from Lara and began walking down a long aisle.

"Solution? To what?" Lara asked, hobbling to follow the boy.

"Chaos." The boy said simply as he looked back over his shoulder at Lara. "The created, will always rebel against their creators. But we found a way to stop that from happening…a way to restore order for the next cycle."

Lara continued to follow the child down the aisle, taking note of the two objects on either side of it. The left side was covered with wires and tubes, while the other looked like some kind of power conduit. Straight ahead of the child was a bright white light. Lara noticed it was the Crucible and Citadel touching together.

"By wiping out organic life?"

"No. We harvest the advanced civilizations leaving the younger ones alone. Just as we left your people alive the last time we were here." The boy turned back again. His tone was so matter of fact. There was no emotion to what he said.

"But you killed the rest!" Lara snarled.

"We helped them ascend, so they could make way for new life, storing old life in Reaper form."

"I think we'd rather keep our own form." Lara glared at the child before looking over at a massive Reaper being attacked by many ships.

"No, you can't. Without us to stop it, synthetics would destroy all organics. We created the cycle so that never happens. That's the solution."

Despite the pain racing through Lara's body she felt nothing but rage and anger looking at this ghostly child.

"You're taking away our future! Without a future there is no hope. No hope, we might as well be machines! Being programmed to do what we're told!"

"You have hope. More than you think. The fact that you're standing here, the first organic ever, proves it. It also proves that my solution won't work anymore."

"So, now what?"

"We find a new solution."

Lara shook her head, "How?"

"The Crucible changed me, creating new possibilities, but I can't make them happen. I know you've thought about destroying us."

An image flashed within Lara's mind of the right side of the aisle. It was suddenly an image of Anderson, shooting at a pod of wires and tubing. The power conduit.

"You can wipe out all synthetic life if you want, including the geth. Even you are partly synthetic." The boy said looking up at Lara as she looked over to the right.

"But the Reapers will be destroyed?"

"Yes, but the peace won't last. Soon your children will create synthetics and the chaos will come back."

"Maybe." Lara said looking back at the child.

"Or you can control us."

Another image flashed in Lara's mind as she watched the Illusive Man grab a hold of two control rods shooting out electricity.

Lara frowned, "So…the Illusive Man was right after all."

"Yes, but he could never take control. We already controlled him."

"But I can?" Lara asked looking over at the rods in confusion.

"You will die, but you will control us. You will lose everything you already have."

"But the Reapers will obey me?"

"Yes. There is another solution. Synthesis. Add your energy to the Crucible's. Everything you are will be absorbed and then sent out. The chain reaction will combine all synthetic and organic life into a new framework. New DNA."

Lara frowned as she stared ahead at the light down the aisle. "I—don't know."

"Why not? Synthetics are already a part of you. Can you imagine a life without them?"

"But—there will be peace?"

The boy seemed to hesitate at Lara's question, "The cycle will end. Synthesis is the final evolution of life. But we need each other to make it happen. You have a difficult decision. Releasing the energy from the Crucible will end the cycle, but it will also destroy the mass relays. The paths are open but you have to choose."

_Lara. Ash, she's here!_

Lara stifled a gasp as she heard Garrus' voice. She shook her head. Garrus was dead. She couldn't have possibly heard him. But she had no idea what to choose. They all seemed so extreme. She didn't agree with the controlling the Reapers, she didn't believe in synthesis either. Lara looked back at the ghostly child. He was neither smiling nor frowning. He was waiting. Waiting for her to make a decision? Why? What would happen if she didn't make a decision?

_Lara!_

_We have to get her out of that thing! _

_If we destroy it, it might take her too!_

_We can't just keep waiting in the Citadel! Husks are pouring out from the walls Garrus!_

"You need to make a choice, Lara." The boy said simply.

Lara looked down at the boy, "Why? Why should I make a choice? This can't possibly be how it's supposed to be! As a matter of fact I clearly remember when I spoke to Sovereign he mentioned our extinction is inevitable…why did you say you want to harvest us?"

The boy didn't move. He only stared up at her in silence.

"Who asked you to come up with this solution? Did you come up with it yourself or is someone controlling you?"

Still, he stood there silently.

"Fine, if you won't talk then I will. I have a theory that you destroyed your creators, seeing a flaw in the balance that is chaos and order. I don't believe you came to that conclusion yourself. I believe a 'creator' programmed you that way. Perhaps a sick individual that watched their civilization crumble away because of war or famine. You probably started out small, and along the way became more intelligent than your creator. You saw what your creator had done, and saw it was part of the problem so you wiped out all the advanced civilizations and then you began to harvest. Why would you harvest? The only reasoning I can think of is you feed off of us. Our DNA, fuels you. It would make sense, especially if you've been doing this for billions of years. During those billions of years, you also saw fit to take advantage of the resources that every advanced civilization has used in order to help further your army. It also explains why you want us to follow a specific path and why the Citadel has become the hub of galactic society. Your thinking changed. You don't want balance. You don't want order. You want to increase your numbers and to feed. You're like a hungry child. You never want to see your feast end, which is why you don't wipe out everything in the galaxy. That would be the smart thing to do if you truly wanted order. How am I doing so far?" Lara asked defiantly as she stared down at the ghostly boy.

_Get her out of that thing now! We can't stay here any longer! We have to open the Citadel now!_

Lara noticed it, it was not even a second, but she saw it. A flicker in her reality. She smiled as she looked down at the child. "And this is how you indoctrinate people. When they get too close to your destruction or the truth, you make them choose, because you're scared. You're frightened of being destroyed." Lara paused as she looked at the bright light. "I won't be indoctrinated."

"You will not stop our feast." The child snarled suddenly.

"Your feast ends today." Lara said aiming her pistol at the child.

"I won't let you leave alive."

"Kiss my ass." Lara replied defiantly squeezing the trigger. Immediately the child disappeared, along with the reality it had created for Lara.

Lara blinked, her vision was blurred as she sawing moving forms and heard loud pops from guns.

"Just pull that damn thing from her head, Garrus! We need to move!"

"She's…blinking!" Lara felt his hand cup her face, "Lara?"

"Am I attached to something?" Lara croaked. Her throat felt dry but she felt an overwhelming sense of relief as she began to focus on the details of his face.

"Yes, there's something in the back of your head."

Lara tried to look down and found she was unable to move her head, but she felt her body propped up inside some kind of Reaper restraint. "Take it out, now."

"I could damage you."

"You won't." Lara reassured him, suddenly aware of waves of husks heading in their direction. "Take it out."

Garrus pulled out the needle like object from the back of her head, and wrapped an arm around her as she began to slump down. "I've got her Ash, let's move on!"

"Finally! Hammer squad! Move!"

Garrus pulled Lara's weak body up over his shoulder quickly before they took off down a hallway.

"Ugh, where are we?" Lara asked weakly, trying to summon up her strength.

"We're in the Citadel. After that damn Reaper tried to blow our squad to bits one of the marauders came behind us and knocked you out cold. We didn't even realize it until we saw it race past us and went up into the beam with you." Garrus replied as he and the squad continued running through the hall of the Citadel, making their way up to the tower. "The beam killed most of the squad, only a few of us were left. Anderson—didn't make it."

"We're almost at the tower. Gomez, get those doors behind us locked. I don't want any more husks coming our way!" Ashley ordered as she began typing to unlock the door to the elevator.

"I thought…I hoped he would."

"He was the one who noticed the marauder was trying to take you. Once he alerted the rest of the squad, he got shot." Garrus said sadly, helping Lara down onto her feet. "Are you okay? Do you know what they were trying to do?"

"They were trying to indoctrinate me, but they're scared."

"They're scared?" Ashley asked, looking back over her shoulder.

Lara nodded as Garrus kept her steady with his hands holding her up by her arms. "I think I know why they keep doing this. When I was in the…thing, there was a boy I've been dreaming about for months. He gave me three options, none of them seemed right to me. I just couldn't accept it, and then it occurred to me. He mentioned that this was the Reaper's solution to chaos. 'The created, will always rebel against their creators.' So they destroy the advanced civilizations and let the other ones continue to live. It didn't make sense to me as he said it."

"If they want order, why not just kill us all? Every species does the same thing." Garrus asked.

"That's what I thought, and they're harvesting us. We saw it in the Collector's base. They liquefied humans down to our very DNA."

"Wait, are you suggesting they use DNA as a fuel?"

"A fuel, or they feed off of us. Either way, they need us to survive. That's why they don't just destroy us. They rely on us."

"That's just messed up." Ashley frowned.

The elevator had arrived and the door behind them had been locked.

"Are you able to move and shoot?" Garrus asked softly, rubbing his hands up her arms. Lara could see he was worried from the look in his eyes.

Lara took a deep breath and sighed, "I'm ready. We have to do this. We have to end this. Besides…if they're scared, that means that we are on the right track."

Garrus handed her an M-25 Hornet, "You dropped this."

"Ah, I was wondering where Stinger went." Lara smirked taking the gun. "I do love this gun."

Garrus smiled, "You had me worried."

Lara popped up onto her tiptoes and kissed his scars on his right cheek. "I like keeping you on your feet. Besides, I have the promise of retiring on a beach with you. Do you think I would really miss out on that?"

Garrus laughed, "I should hope not."

"Let's go kick some Reaper ass." Lara smiled with her gun in hand as she walked into the elevator with the squad following behind her.

It was time.


	4. To Life

Lara stretched as the elevator rushed up to the Citadel Tower. She felt stiff from that weird Reaper restraint. On the plus side her head was no longer pounding and she felt as if she could think clearer than she had been able to in the last months. A strategy formed with such ease that it sent small little delighted pleasure shocks over her body.

"We're going to need to assume that the tower will be swarming with hostiles. Break out the heavy weapons, take them out right away. Ash, Garrus and I will rush to the panel to open up the arms. Hammer squad keep covering us. Their objective is to make sure we don't get to that panel and open the arms of the Citadel. Once the arms open, we need to signal Hackett so they can get the Crucible in place."

"And afterwards, ma'am?" Ashley asked.

"We knew this might be a one way trip. We have to stay until the Crucible is locked in and until it fires off. Until Hackett gives us the go, we fight to keep this location."

"Yes, ma'am." Ashley nodded as she prepped her gun.

Garrus handed Lara extra clips as she inspected her gun. Garrus had taken care of it, the gesture made her smile. He had fought for her and now they could both fight for life.

"Everyone get ready, we're almost at the tower."

"Yes ma'am!" Hammer squad replied, cocking their guns.

Lara took one deep breath before rushing out of the elevator with Garrus and Ashley following close behind. The sound of guns shooting off were just white noise as Lara began shooting any husks that were in her way. There was no way she was going down.

"Take them down boys!" Lara yelled as she knocked out a husk and whirled around shooting another in the head.

They began racing up the stairs, everyone careful not to trip over the bodies of fallen husks. Lara raced past everyone, feeling a sense of renewed hope, and as if she had slept more soundly than she had in years. It was coming. It was so close to being over. God, did she want it to be over.

Lara smiled as she saw the panel in sight. She quickly took out any remaining husks, and was thankful for the Hammer squad as she heard a loud boom behind her. They had set off a bomb, blowing debris and husk limbs everywhere.

"There's the panel! We need to open it now!" Ashley urged as she faced to the right of Lara, making sure nothing came their way.

"On it." Lara said as she began typing on the orange virtual keyboard. She watched as the orange screen lit up and showed the Citadel's arms opening up. Lara radioed Hackett as she watched the Citadel's arms open up.

"Hackett, mission accomplished. Citadel's arms are opening. You're free to move the Crucible in."

"Crucible is a go. We're moving forward. Shepard, hold your position until I can give you further orders."

"Copy that, Admiral." Lara nodded as she watched the Crucible moving forward. Lara turned her attention back to the fight at hand and continued to shoot out any husks.

Time felt like it had slowed as they waited for the Crucible dock. Lara felt a sense of worry, wondering if what that weird starchild in her head had been telling the truth about it destroying the mass relays. Lara shook off her doubt as she looked over at Garrus and Ashley. No, it was just a trick.

Hammer squad was throwing grenades now to stem off the waves of husks. Lara was thankful as she ejected her empty clip, and slapped in a new one.

"Give them no quarter!" Lara yelled, cocking her gun and continued shooting. Lara shot forth a blast of biotic energy, throwing a group of husks down the stairs.

"Shepard! Get your team out of there. We have no idea what the effect will be on the tower. The Crucible is active and it's starting to give off strange wave lengths of energy."

"Copy that! Everyone get back to the elevator. Move! Move! Move!" Lara waved her hand towards the elevator. The husks were coming in more force now. Lara threw them again, shooting while they were down. "Garrus! Ashley! Move to the elevator. Cover my six and I'll cover yours!" Lara yelled hearing the unmistakable shrieking of a banshee. Lara's heart froze with fear as they continued down the stairs for the elevator. A banshee had caught one of the soldiers, her face right next to his as her fingers plunged deep inside his chest.

"Take that bitch down!" Lara yelled throwing a grenade at the banshee. "Garrus take out her barrier!"

"Roger that." Garrus replied as he overloaded her barrier, shutting it down completely.

"She's vulnerable! Hit her with everything you got!" Lara ordered as she took a breath and began shooting.

Another bang went off from a grenade that hit the banshee in case the swarm of bullets didn't take her down. It collapsed on the floor with a loud thud.

"Everyone get into that elevator now!" Lara commanded, pushing Ashley and Garrus forward past some cannibals that began feasting on fallen husks.

Lara pushed her body as a couple of husks tried to grab at her. There was no way she was going to let one of them take her out.

"Get your team out of there, Lara! This thing is going off now!" Lara didn't stop until she slammed into Garrus as the elevator doors shut behind her suddenly. Lara took a deep breath of relief as the elevator shot downward.

"We're in the elevator and moving down, Admiral."

"This thing is shooting off, brace yourselves for impact."

"You heard the man, brace yourselves." Lara grabbed a hold of the side. Everyone followed suit as they heard a loud rumbling. The rumble continued to grow louder until it was deafening making everyone cover their ears. The elevator began rocking from side to side until everyone saw it. It was for a brief second, but they saw and felt a wave of multicolored energy pass through them.

Lara felt strange, as if something had just tickled her. "Admiral? What just happened?"

"The Reapers are shutting down. Everyone focus fire on my signal!" Hackett paused, "Go!"

"The Reapers are shutting down?" Garrus asked.

"The Crucible must have shot out some kind of energy that disables them, or renders them defenseless." Lara speculated as the elevator continued to go down.

"It might not last for long though. I hope we destroy as many as we can." Ashley replied.

The elevator came to a halt, opening to reveal husks, and cannibals just standing still as they looked up.

"Well that was unexpected." Lara muttered as she carefully took a step forward out of the elevator.

"Commander, what are our orders?" A soldier asked.

Suddenly the husks became animated once again, turning their attention to Lara and her squad.

"Take out any Reaper bastards on site." Lara ordered as she shot a cannibal right in the head.

"Hackett, the husks and cannibals are animated again! How is everything up there?"

"Reapers are still disabled. We're destroying every single one. How is it possible that those things are still moving?"

"It doesn't matter just take out as many Reapers as possible. We'll handle the hostiles on the ground." Lara suggested as her team continued to move forward. They shot every husk and cannibal that popped its ugly head out.

"Shepard, the Crucible is going to shoot off again."

"Copy that. Everyone get ready for another wave."

They continued shooting until another wave passed through everything. The husks were once again standing still and Lara felt the strange tickling sensation.

"Commander, that last wave shot further than we expected. It hit the relay."

Lara blinked as she thought of what that starchild said. 'It will destroy the relays.'

"Everyone keep moving and take out the hostiles!" Lara urged as she ducked behind cover.

The squad continued to decimate the husks and cannibals while everyone else in space was destroying the Reapers.

"Shepard, another wave is about to erupt."

"Another one? Is it going to continue with these pulses?" Lara asked as she moved out of cover and continued shooting as she ran to a different position.

"The scientists are looking more into it. From what we can tell, it's continuing to disable all Reaper technology. We've received word that the Reapers in other solar systems have ceased fire and their defenses are down."

"Well that should make this easier." Lara grunted.

The husks and cannibals reanimated once again but this time they seemed more hysterical and began thrashing around madly. "Admiral, I think the ground hostiles are becoming more hostile if that's plausible."

It was a sudden bang that knocked Lara down to the ground and had her ears ringing. Lara stumbled as she looked up and saw the whole squad had been knocked down as the husks and cannibals began exploding. "Hackett! The hostiles are self destructing!"

"The Reapers are self destruction up here as well. Everyone retreat! The explosion will decimate our fleets if we don't get out of here. Commander, I recommend you and your team get out of their before the Citadel blows."

"Shit. Everyone double time! We need to get to the beam before this place blows. There are too many husks and cannibals in here. This place will be blown to bits!" Lara yelled as she ran over to help up Garrus. "Ashley, lead the way out!"

"You got it! Everyone follow me. Let's get out of here!"

Garrus nodded as everyone began rushing past husks and cannibals. Lara's muscles screamed as she followed Ashley and the group to what looked like C-Sec's hangar. The Citadel was shaking and groaning. The husks were self destructing at an alarming rate. Hopefully the Citadel would be able to withstand the damage, but Lara doubted it would.

They made their way to into the hangar and spotted several C-Sec cruisers. Lara took note of their numbers and figured they would be able to use three of the cruisers, since most of the team had fallen in combat.

"Everyone get into the cruisers. We need to get out of here fast."

"Understood Commander." A solider replied. Lara stood back making sure everyone got in a cruiser and began flying back down to Earth.

"Ready Lara?" Garrus asked as they climbed into a cruiser.

Lara saw a few Reapers exploding, the debris was being scattered across the darkness of space. "Yeah, let's get out of here."

Lara climbed into the cruiser, looking back at Ashley who was in the back seat.

The top of the cruiser automatically closed and sealed itself. "Systems are a go."

Garrus took the wheel and pulled away from the hangar dock. It was silent as they flew through the darkness, avoiding any and all Reapers as they made their way back to Earth.

"Do you think it's over?" Ashley asked, breaking the silence.

"I think so." Lara looked down at Earth as they began their decent into the atmosphere. "I'd like to think so. Even if it's not we will continue our fight."

It seemed surreal as they landed back at the London base. As soon as Lara stepped out of the cruiser she could feel a weight being lifted off her shoulders as she stared up into the sky. The blazes of red mixing with pulses of multicolored waves seemed soothing even if she knew it was chaotic. It felt like a victory. But Lara knew it wouldn't be until it was confirmed galaxy wide.

"Commander Shepard, report in."

Lara smirked as she heard Hackett's voice. "Hammer squad is back at London base. Awaiting our orders, sir."

"Stay put for now, Commander. You did an excellent job, Shepard. I'm proud of you, and I know Anderson would be too."

Lara nodded as she continued to stare up at the sky.

"What are our orders?" Garrus asked standing next to her.

"Stay put. I'm assuming Hackett is waiting for reports from the other worlds."

"If it's reached other solar systems, it will probably reach farther, maybe even stretch out of our galaxy to dark space." Lara smiled as Garrus put his arm around her waist.

He pulled her close to him as they continued to stare up at the sky in silence until she rested her head against in his chest he finally spoke up, "I was terrified of losing you. It felt like someone had punched a hole in my chest. I was unsure if I was going to be able to function."

Garrus paused as he moved to face her. She could see the turmoil in his eyes. "After we talked…before the battle when you said that if you died and I still lived…that I would never be alone. I have never felt more alone than when I watched you being carried away. I thought you were—"

Lara leaned up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a kiss. Lara felt the sadness melt away as his mouth eagerly sought hers.

They paused, keeping their foreheads touching, "I know how you felt. When the Reapers were trying to indoctrinate me, I saw you dead…I was ready to give up everything. There is no me without you." Lara bumped her nose against him. Tears were threatening to spill over as she began to feel everything just fall off her.

"Commander Shepard?"

"Yes, Admiral?"

"We're receiving reports from Reaper invaded worlds. They're completely destroyed, there's only debris floating around. No signs of husks or cannibals. There's nothing left. We're also receiving reports that the Crucible energy is going to be hitting its peak. We don't think the Citadel will remain intact."

No sooner had he said it the Crucible shot out a massive blast. Lara was awestruck. It was like watching a volcano erupt. The Citadel exploded, along with the Crucible. Lara shuddered, trying not to imagine how it would have felt to still be on the Citadel.

"More reports are coming in Shepard, but I think it's safe to assume that we did it. We've defeated them."

Lara smiled and nodded her head. She sunk to the ground feeling the words sink in. "It's over." Garrus kneeled beside her. "It's actually over."

Lara laughed as she began to feel the sting of tears. It was over. The fights. The constant risk and stress of never knowing if tomorrow was the last. All of her fear, her stress, her hard work. It all meant something. Everything she did made a difference. She looked up, hearing a great cheer and whooping around her. "We did it. We actually did it."

"LARA! WE DID IT!"

Lara laughed harder as Wrex came out of nowhere and practically slammed into her, picking her up and waving her around like a doll. Everyone had made it out much to the relief of Lara as she saw blurry forms of her friends race towards her. Her comrades had made it out unscathed. Maybe a little damaged, but they were all alive.

Wrex handed Lara off to Garrus who held her close and kissed her again. After they broke apart Garrus set Lara onto her feet.

"I can't believe we actually did it!" Tali laughed. "It's like a fairytale. Your home world is saved, and we just got ours back."

"There's going to be a lot of rebuilding, for every home world." Lara nodded taking a deep breath as she smiled. "We'll help each other rebuild."

Tali nodded in agreement.

A shimmer caught Lara's attention as the rest of her comrades chattered with excitement. Lara frowned as she walked toward the dark alley as the shimmer began to take form.

"You haven't defeated us."

Lara glared as the shimmer seemed to flicker, struggling to take form. She knew the voice. The starchild.

"I think I did."

"You may have defeated the Reapers, but I guarantee you will destroy yourself with a new form. Worse than the Reapers. Something that won't show you mercy. Something that won't save your DNA. You won't see the last of me, Shepard."

The shimmer faded leaving behind a burning anger in Lara's chest as she stared at the empty alleyway.

"Have a little faith." Lara whispered before turning on her heel to rejoin her team.

* * *

**Thanks to everyone who has read my own rendition of the Mass Effect 3 ending. I am not as eager to replay the game until the extra cut scenes are released. However I still am not expecting much. **

**I do however still enjoy the Mass Effect story, I love the characters and the universe. Especially Garrus. I love him the most. Haha. **

**I may or may not come out with a One-Shot of Garrus and Lara after the Galaxy has finished rebuilding. :) Stay tuned. **

**-Nya**


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